1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, apparatus, system, and program storage device for distributing intellectual property, in particular, to a system for distributing semiconductor design property (design information) through the Internet and intranets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent improvements in the integration of semiconductor devices are raising problems of increasing the number of LSI manufacturing processes and prolonging the LSI development period. To solve the problems, it is important to reuse intellectual property (IP), in particular, semiconductor design property related to cores (megacells), circuit libraries, and software parts for microprocessors and for built-in units. To reuse the intellectual property, a system is needed for promoting the distribution thereof. In view of advancing network technology, what is needed is a system that uses the Internet and intranets to distribute intellectual property.
Namely, to obtain intellectual property, one may get a printed catalog first, an explanation about detailed specifications second, and then circuit data stored in an electronic medium such as a floppy disk. Therefore, many steps and a long time are needed to get intellectual property. This hinders the reuse of intellectual property and the development of system LSIs.
Prior art and the problems thereof will be explained later in connection with drawings.